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After some time with trying to reserve a table with too narrow margin I finally managed to plan ahead and call the two weeks in advance needed for a table for two at Grill on the weekends. The different sections in the dining room vary greatly in style and ambient sound level so me and my company were very pleased when we saw that we got a table in the inner Victorian section. There's an abundance ...Las Vegas
Country: United States of America
Introduction
Las Vegas is the Mecca for gambling but there's much more to it nowadays. Everything is built to support gambling so accomodation, entertainment and food can often be found at very good value.
The city is divided in two main areas for visitors, The Strip and Downtown. Basically, most older resorts and casinos are situated close to Downtown while the newer are placed nearer the ariport on The Strip. A few years ago the Downtown area was the target of some major renovations and new features to make it more tourist friendly and less rough, but it seems as if it didn't completely succeed. With the MGM-Mirage groups major current build of the City Centre complex between Bellagio and Exalibur the shift is made even clearer that the southern end of The Strip is the new centre of the town.
The city is divided in two main areas for visitors, The Strip and Downtown. Basically, most older resorts and casinos are situated close to Downtown while the newer are placed nearer the ariport on The Strip. A few years ago the Downtown area was the target of some major renovations and new features to make it more tourist friendly and less rough, but it seems as if it didn't completely succeed. With the MGM-Mirage groups major current build of the City Centre complex between Bellagio and Exalibur the shift is made even clearer that the southern end of The Strip is the new centre of the town.
Information
If you're planning to use cash (e.g. for gaming) either wire the money to your casino's cage or bring it with you. The ATM's available charge you in the order of $1.95 or 3.5% if you use a debit card. A credit withdrawal costs significantly more.
Use the concierge at your hotel; they can provide tickets for shows, tables at restaurants and entrance to nightclubs which seems sold out or unavailable throughpublic channels. It's easier the get a good personal contact with the concierge at the smaller hotels such as THEHotel and Hard Rock Hotel.
Use the concierge at your hotel; they can provide tickets for shows, tables at restaurants and entrance to nightclubs which seems sold out or unavailable throughpublic channels. It's easier the get a good personal contact with the concierge at the smaller hotels such as THEHotel and Hard Rock Hotel.
Around
The Hoover dam is nearby and could be worth a visit, take a helicopter ride there if you have the money to spend. Death Valley is also in the neighbourhood, you can get there by car (3-3.5 hours) or a private ariplane if you want to experience one of the hottest, driest and most unfriendly places on earth.
Getting There and Away
The preferred way of getting to Las Vegas is by air to McCarran International Airport. Going by car on a detour from a california road trip is a good option if you have one available. Trains and busses are available from Los Angeles, trains should be avoided if you can (slower and equally expensive to busses). Greyhound works but you really need to buy tickets in advance and even then you have to be prepared to stand in line and wait for your tickets for a long time. A better option is to use one of the Chinatown bus lines, a single ticket is $30 and can be found on GoToBus.com.
Getting Around
The resorts might seem to be situated quite close to each other, but since they are such gigantic complexes the real distance is rather substantial. When you factor in the heat it becomes a quite a non-pleasant experience to routinely walk between the resorts.
Unfortunately, the public transportation system is disastrous. There's one bus line going up and down The Strip (The Deuce), with stops at every major resort, but since it stops everywhere it takes forever to go anywhere. The good side is that it only costs $2 for a single ride, but how much is your time worth?
There's a monorail starting at the airport and making stops at some of the resorts, but since it costs as much as a taxi ride for a single ticket and don't make enough stops it's really not that recommended.
So, the only option is to go by car, either your own, a rented or taxi. The taxi fares are quite good and the traffic is more or less ok but when you need to take a cab for every single transport you have to make, both money and time adds up.
The best choice then? Choose a hotel near whatever you want to visit (Rio for the WSOP, Mandalay Bay for fights in their event centre) or where you can spend the best part of your visit.
Unfortunately, the public transportation system is disastrous. There's one bus line going up and down The Strip (The Deuce), with stops at every major resort, but since it stops everywhere it takes forever to go anywhere. The good side is that it only costs $2 for a single ride, but how much is your time worth?
There's a monorail starting at the airport and making stops at some of the resorts, but since it costs as much as a taxi ride for a single ticket and don't make enough stops it's really not that recommended.
So, the only option is to go by car, either your own, a rented or taxi. The taxi fares are quite good and the traffic is more or less ok but when you need to take a cab for every single transport you have to make, both money and time adds up.
The best choice then? Choose a hotel near whatever you want to visit (Rio for the WSOP, Mandalay Bay for fights in their event centre) or where you can spend the best part of your visit.
Restaurants
From extreme budget to fancy fine dining, all kinds of restaurants can be found in the big resort complexes. The best in value are the various buffets although their quality vary extremely. Almost every celebrity chef has one or multiple restaurants and although they can be very good, the chef in question very seldom has much to do with the place and they are very seldom up to the same standard as the originals where the chef spends more of his (or her) time.
Average rating: 85%: Shibuya is a very stylish modern japanese restaurant. For value (and speed of getting a seat) sit by the sushi-bar to see the chefs in action. A variety of dishes (like sushi and teriyaki chicken) can be found for sub $20 and they are excellent value. [more]
Average rating: 70%: Very good and very nice value. The dishes have good taste, fresh ingredients and nice, spacy dining areas. [more]
Average rating: 65%: The L'Atelier de Jöel Robuchon in Las Vegas is a twin to the one in Paris and unlike most of the other celebrity chef establishments this one really brings the soul and spirit from it's siblings rather than just the name, décor and menu. The executive chef Steve Benjamin has earned one Michelin Star to this restaurant with an interesting variety of french Haute Cuisine.
The chefs work in an ... [more]
Hotels
Casino hotels & resorts - On weekdays or off-season some really good deals can be found online at, for example, Vegas.com or the hotel's website. Always ask for a 2-bed room and slide a $10 or so during check-in and ask for a upgrade (unless you already have a suite).
Nightlife
The standard entrance-fee is $20-$40 and prepare to stand in line for the popular clubs. For the moment, the best and most popular clubs are Tao, Pure and LAX and maybe Body English. If you're a group of guys going to these, either meet up with some girls on the way there or order bottle service, the chance of getting in is otherwise is slim if you don't know the right people. For bottle service, a bottle of vodka is usually ~$550 and you have to spend some more on tips (vip host, the mixologist and security) and the drink mixers so you're looking at around $850. However, most clubs have a two bottle minimum so be prepared to spend some cash,the concierge at most hotels can usually arrange the bottle service.
Although it might be expensive, these clubs are worth it. There's a good ratio of boys vs. girls, no one is shabby and the facilities, settings, DJ's, bartenders, hostesses and go-go dancers are all world class. The other clubs not mentioned here who want's to be hip can generally be avoided, they just aren't that fun.
All major strip clubs offer free limo service from any hotel, just call or walk up to a limo driver and ask to be driven to the club. Some will push you to choose a smaller club instead but they are more or less worthless in comparison. The major ones (Spearmint Rhino and Scores Las Vegas, for example) are spectacular though, plenty of beautiful girls and a nice setting without the awkwardness of the smaller ones.
There are some limo-services offering club-hopping with front of line passes but they are generally not to the best clubs. Beware if you're planning to wear tennis shoes/sneakers and/or t-shirts as it's generally not accepted. jackcolton.com also has some good coverage of the Las Vegas nightlife.
Average rating: 70%: Spearmint Rhino is one of the best, largest and most famous strip clubs in the world. It's located in Sin City (Las Vegas) a little bit off The Strip. All major limo companies will take you there for free. There's an endless supply of beatiful girls catering to most guys preferences. The ambience differs from most other strip clubs, it's more classy and girls are allowed (although in company with ... [more]
Average rating: 55%: Body English is Hard Rock Hotels major nightclub. Sunday nights is locals night (no cover for locals) and one of the best times to be here.
Cover charge is $30 and Body English is open Wednesdays (House Night) and Friday-Sunday. [more]
Average rating: 35%: This one feels more like a show for the tourists than for the clubber looking to dance and have fun. The decor is nice and closely resembles the feel of the movie, as are the dancers but it just feels as if you're a spectator and not part of it, the big crowd of tourists certainly help that. [more]
Things to do
Apart from gambling Las Vegas is known for the shows. Every major hotel has at least one major show and many of them have more. Cirque du Soleil have a number of spectacular new-circus shows, the most popular being O and Love although most of them are constantly sold out well in advance.
Shopping
Most resorts have their shopping arcades in vicinity of the casino floors and then there's the fashion show mall for example. Almost every luxury brand can be found in one of the fancy resorts. Ceasar's might have of the best arcades.
Casey's is a very well stocked proper (perhaps the only) photography equipment store in Las Vegas. It's more expensive than the online retailers but not any more than other brick and mortar stores. The staff is helpful and nice. To get there you need a car (or cab) since it is situated a bit off from the strip close to the university. [more]
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